A/S Norske Shell and its license partners are investing in a new drilling and well intervention campaign at Ormen Lange in the Norwegian Sea. An investment figure was not disclosed.

The campaign, which follows the 2025 start of subsea compression to compensate for the natural pressure drop in the reservoir, includes two sidetracks from existing wells to access additional gas volumes, as well as an option for modifications to a third well. First production is expected in 2029, the operator said in an early October release.

The campaign is expected to increase recovery by about 3.5 billion cu m of gas over the life of the field.

“Ormen Lange has been producing for almost 20 years, but there is still room for further resources. This investment will enable us to produce gas volumes that today’s wells cannot reach efficiently, thereby creating additional value from the field while contributing to reliable gas supplies to Europe,” said Claire Richardson-Dissel, asset manager for Ormen Lange at Norske Shell.

Ormen Lange 

Norway's second largest developed gas field, Ormen Lange was Norway's first deepwater field development. The field is developed without a platform, with all production from subsea installations installed at depths of up to 1,100 m.

Gas from sandstone at a depth of almost 3,000 m is piped up the Storeggakanten peninsula to the onshore plant at Nyhamna in Aukra municipality, where it is processed before export to the UK and the EU. 

Shell is operator of Ormen Lange with 17.8% interest. License partners are Petoro AS (36.5%), Equinor Energy AS (25.4%), Orlen Upstream Norway AS (14%), and Vår Energi AS (6.3%).